Wednesday, September 2, 2009

8 Days of Peter

Don't you love this picture? How amazing is our world??!!! Summer seems officially over ~ the tent packed away, the weather cooling down, Fall Soccer starting this week and the kids back in school next week. I'm kind of looking forward to the schedule again and having both kids in school every day :-) Mai is in p.m. Kindy, so there will still be lots of rushing around dropping off and picking up, but there will be 3 hours every day with some peace and quiet ~ I can't believe how flippin' much these kids talk!!!!!!

I'm anxious to get back to the gym on a regular scheduled basis. I also just got moved off the waiting list for a 30 day bootcamp and into class, which starts in a couple of weeks. It's a 5:30 A!M! class and it's a bit of a drive to get to, so it looks like I'll be heading to bed at 8:30pm with the kiddos.

My ankle tendonitis (?) is not getting better, so rather than continue to guess at what's wrong and not get any better, I guess it's time to make an appointment with the ortho. I've been walking so funny due to the ankle pain that I've now managed to tweak something in my calves. My legs just plain hurt!

Ok, on to some Word! I'm reading 01/02 Peter this week so I thought I would blog my favorite verses (out of The Message)... oh heck, why don't I just share all of 01Peter Chapter 1. I love these two books!!

01Peter 1:1-25I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten, God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!

A NEW LIFEWhat a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven - and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all - life healed and whole.

I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out it proved pure; genuine faith put through his suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

You never saw him, yet you love him, You still don't see him, yet you trust him- with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.

The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah's Spirit let them in on some of it - that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves - through the Holy Spirit - the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!

A FUTURE IN GODSo roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then, you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy, you be holy."

You call out to God for help and he helps - he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living.

Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousnes of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrifical lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately - at the end of the ages- become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.

Now that you've cleaned up your lives fy following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God's living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That's why the prophet said,

The old life is a grass life,its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;Grass dries up, flowers droop,God's Word goes on and on forever.

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We'll Find A Cure

To be sure, calling is not what it is commonly thought to be. It has to be dug out from under the rubble of ignorance and confusion. And, uncomfortably, it often flies in the face of our human inclinations. But nothing short of God's call can ground and fulfill the truest human desire for purpose. - Os Guinness